WebFOCUS Release Guide
Release 8.2 Version 01 and Higher
July 23, 2019
Active Technologies, EDA, EDA/SQL, FIDEL, FOCUS, Information Builders, the Information Builders logo, iWay, iWay
Software, Parlay, PC/FOCUS, RStat, Table Talk, Web390, WebFOCUS, WebFOCUS Active Technologies, and WebFOCUS
Magnify are registered trademarks, and DataMigrator and Hyperstage are trademarks of Information Builders, Inc.
Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Adobe Reader, Flash, Adobe Flash Builder, Flex, and PostScript are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Due to the nature of this material, this document refers to numerous hardware and software products by their
trademarks. In most, if not all cases, these designations are claimed as trademarks or registered trademarks by their
respective companies. It is not this publisher's intent to use any of these names generically. The reader is therefore
cautioned to investigate all claimed trademark rights before using any of these names other than to refer to the product
described.
Copyright © 2018, by Information Builders, Inc. and iWay Software. All rights reserved. Patent Pending. This manual, or
parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Information Builders, Inc.
Contents
1. WebFOCUS Release Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Browser Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Web Browsers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8.2.x Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Mobile Browser Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Accessibility Compliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
WebFOCUS Client Supported Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
WebFOCUS Support Statement for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
WebFOCUS Application Server Minimum JVM Version Requirement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Supported RDBMS and Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Supported Web and App Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
WebFOCUS SOAP Web Services Minimum Axis Version Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Localization (NLV) and NLS Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
National Language Support (NLS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Localized Version Support (NLV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
WebFOCUS and Reporting Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
WebFOCUS Client and ReportCaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
App Studio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
WebFOCUS Open Portal Services - Supported Portals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Release, Gen Maintenance, HotFix Availability Information WebFOCUS Client and App Studio . . 21
WebFOCUS Reporting and Microsoft Office Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
WebFOCUS Reporting Formats and Microsoft Product Association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
WebFOCUS EXL2K and PPT Formats and Microsoft Office Suite Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Microsoft Office 2003 Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
WebFOCUS EXL2K and PPT Formats and Microsoft Office Viewer Products Support. . . . . . .24
Usage Consideration When Using Hyperlinks to Run WebFOCUS Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
WebFOCUS DOC Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Recommended Reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2. WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Active Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
WebFOCUS Release Guide
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Contents
Support for a Floating-Point Value on a WHERE Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Menu Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Coordinated Fields and NOPRINT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Title for Coordinated Field Drop-Down List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
App Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Installation and Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
HTML Page Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
HTML Canvas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Report Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Business Views Plus (BV+). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Business Intelligence Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Managed Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
WebFOCUS Charts and Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
HTML5 Upgrade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
WebFOCUS Graph API Upgrade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
WebFOCUS Embedded Business Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
InfoAssist+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
General Enhancements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Enhancements to Charting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Magnify Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Lock Files Remain in Lucene Version 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
ReportCaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
WebFOCUS Infrastructure and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
WebFOCUS Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Change to Default Processing of Joins to Flat Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Expression Handling: Rounding With Internally Used Packed Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Raised Limit for RECAP Phrases in Non-FML TABLE Requests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Conversion of Alphanumeric Strings to Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Change to Use of Prefix in JOIN AS Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Report With Data Visualization Bar Graphs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
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Upgrading HTML Pages for Modern Browsers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Converting WebFOCUS StyleSheet Syntax to CSS Tags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Document Type Designation to Identify Browser Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Change to AnV Fields When Output to a Delimited Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Changes to the HTMLEMBEDIMG and HTMLARCHIVE Commands (HTML/DHTML). . . . . . . . 66
DHTML Output Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Change to ACROSS Column Limit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Enhancement for JPG Compression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Changes to Report Backcolor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Change to the HTMLCSS Command (HTML/DHTML). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Enhancement to the SET EXTENDNUM Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Numeric Precision in XLSX Workbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
XLSX FORMULA and EXL2K FORMULA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Locale Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Conditional Styling With Borders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Error Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
DST. With NOPRINT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Execution of Compound Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Changes to Default MATCH FILE Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Using &Variables as Dialogue Manager Labels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Change in Results With WHERE TOTAL, Multi-Verb, and MAX.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
NATVFLG=2 causes VALIDATE error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
WebFOCUS Release Guide
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Contents
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Information Builders
Chapter
1
WebFOCUS Release Information
This topic describes relevant release information for WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01
and higher.
In this chapter:
Functionality
Browser Information
WebFOCUS Client Supported Operating Systems
WebFOCUS Support Statement for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE)
Supported RDBMS and Drivers
Supported Web and App Servers
WebFOCUS SOAP Web Services Minimum Axis Version Requirement
Localization (NLV) and NLS Limitations
WebFOCUS Open Portal Services - Supported Portals
Release, Gen Maintenance, HotFix Availability Information WebFOCUS Client and App
Studio
WebFOCUS Reporting and Microsoft Office Support
Additional Resources
Functionality
The following is a functionality support limitation in WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01 and
higher:
Accessibility - support limited to HTML and PDF formats. For additional information, see
Accessibility Compliance on page 12.
The following functionality is supported as of WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M (May
2017):
App Studio Source Control
WebFOCUS Release Guide
7
Browser Information
Magnify
Open Portal Services
Please also review the WebFOCUS 8.2 WebFOCUS and App Studio Consolidated Features
statement that provides information on the WebFOCUS Release 8.2 product components,
interfaces, and tools that are discontinued or functionally stabilized due to the availability of
new or enhanced product components or confirmed usage decline.
Browser Information
The following topics describe information for the available web and mobile browsers for
WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01 and higher.
Web Browsers
Information Builders evaluates the browser vendor's support policy and certifies new
browser versions. See Microsoft's website for information on Internet Explorer including the
Support for older versions of Internet Explorer ended statement. Information Builders
recommends following the usage requirements of the browser vendor to insure your
browser is secure and supports the web standards that power today's web-based
capabilities.
For information on certain conditions that can force Internet Explorer to display pages in a
document mode different from the one specified in the webpage see Internet Explorer
Browser Document Compatibility.
For information on the expected behavior of Internet Explorer (32-bit) on a Windows x64
machine, see the Microsoft TechNet article Run IE 32bit on Windows 10 X64.
See the following information published by Mozilla for information on Firefox browser
version support:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Enterprise/Firefox/ExtendedSupport:Proposal
See 8.2.x Notes on page 9 for additional browser, Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and Adobe
Reader support information.
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1. WebFOCUS Release Information
Release
Google Chrome™
Mozilla Firefox®
Microsoft Edge™
Internet
Explorer®
Release 8.2.01M
(March 2018)
Version 64*
Quantum 57*
Version 41
Version 11
Release 8.2.01M
(August 2017)
Version 60*
Version 54
Version 38
Release 8.2.01M
(May 2017)
Version 57
Version 52
Release 8.2.01
Version 53
Version 49**
*App Studio 8.2.01M (March 2018) requires Chrome™ 64 and Firefox Quantum 57 due to
Selenium web driver integration. Later versions of Chrome and Firefox Quantum will return
an error.
*Chrome 62 is not supported due to issues that impact WebFOCUS functionality that are
confirmed fixed by Chrome 63.
**Firefox 49 is certified for WebFOCUS. App Studio requires Firefox 47.0.1 or earlier due to
integration with the Selenium web driver which is used to provide multi-browser support. For
additional information on Selenium web driver, see the SeleniumHQ web site and search for
Firefox 48.
8.2.x Notes
Simple HTML WebFOCUS reports can be viewed on any browser.
Chart/Graph request notes:
Browser-generated graphs refer to graphs that are rendered inside the browser using
HTML5 (and JavaScript). Browser-generated graphs are utilized in both standard HTML5
output ("FORMAT JSCHART"), and in Information Builders Active Technologies ("FORMAT
AHTML").
Server-generated graphs refer to traditional Information Builders graph requests that are
generated on the Reporting Server and then embedded as a bitmap or vector image in a
document or webpage. This includes the following output formats:
Bitmap: PNG, GIF, JPG
WebFOCUS Release Guide
9
Browser Information
Vector: PDF (but not active PDF), SVG
Support for presenting images and graphs in HTML, DHTML, and DHTML compound reports
is provided using an image embedding facility based on the client browser. Output
generated by IE browsers or in scenarios where the browser is unknown (such as when
distributed by ReportCaster) supports image inclusion through the creation of a web archive
file (.mht). For all other browsers, images are base64 encoded within the generated .htm
file.
Drill-down links do not work when using an embedded PDF viewer available in some browser
versions. Refer to the browser's configuration information on how to change the Application
Options settings for the relevant content types so that the browser will automatically use
Adobe Reader.
Adobe Reader support:
Acrobat Reader DC is certified
Adobe XI is supported
Adobe X is supported
Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 9 is supported
Mac users: Firefox browser is supported on the Macintosh operating system. Firefox
browser functionality is consistent with Safari web browsers.
Note: This only applies to WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01 Mac users.
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
Mobile Browser Information
If you are planning to use WebFOCUS products on mobile devices, please note the following
regarding mobile browser support. If you will be using WebFOCUS products on the Windows
operating system, see the Web Browser support information.
Note: Browsers released after the production date of a WebFOCUS version are subject to
certification.
WebFOCUS Developer Tools (for example, InfoAssist+, Portal Designer, and so on) are not
supported on mobile devices.
The following devices were used in testing WebFOCUS Release 8.2.01M (March 2018):
iOS 11.0 iPad and iPhone (Latest iOS 11 iPad and iPhone is supported)
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Information Builders
1. WebFOCUS Release Information
iOS 10.2.1 iPad and iPhone (Latest iOS 10 iPad and iPhone is supported)
iOS 9.3 iPad and iPhone
AirWatch 5.9 with iOS 10
Android 7.0 tablet
Android 6.0 tablet and phone
Mobile Faves version 3.2.1.5
The following devices were used in testing WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M (August
2017) and earlier 8.2 Version 01 releases:
iOS 10.2.1 iPad and iPhone (Latest iOS 10 iPad and iPhone is supported)
iOS 9.3 iPad and iPhone
iOS 9.2 iPad
Note: This only applies to WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01.
AirWatch 5.9 with iOS 10
Android 7.0 tablet
Android 6.0 tablet and phone
Android 5.1 tablet and phone
Mobile Faves version 3.2.1.
Usage Considerations:
ReportCaster interfaces are supported on tablets.
HTML reporting Table of Contents (BYTOC) feature is not supported.
Viewing PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint documents may require a 3rd party helper app.
On iOS devices, disconnected active content requires a helper app to run its JavaScript.
WebFOCUS Mobile Faves can be used for this, as can other HTML helper apps.
Note: This only applies to WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01.
To open In-Document Analytics content, JavaScript needs to be enabled in your web
browser. On mobile devices, please use the Mobile Faves app. If not installed, download it
from the App Store for iOS devices or from the Google Play Store for Android devices.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
11
WebFOCUS Client Supported Operating Systems
See the WebFOCUS Release Notes for detailed information on known issues and
documentation updates.
See WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations on page 27 for detailed
information on expected functionality changes and configurations required for some product
features.
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
Accessibility Compliance
For information on the Information Builders software products to which Section 508
accessibility standards are applicable, see the following:
Technical Memo 4505: WebFOCUS HTML Report Accessibility Support
Technical Memo 4704: WebFOCUS PDF Report Accessibility Support
Keyboard navigation is supported with Jaws on a Windows ® operating system. For Jaws
browser requirement information, see the Freedom Scientific web site.
Release 8.2 Version 01M supports Jaws Version 18 and 17.
Release 8.2 Version 01 supports Jaws Version 18, 17 and 16.
Internet Explorer browser Version IE 11.
Chrome and Firefox browsers are supported with HTML and PDF accessible reports. See
Web Browsers on page 8 release information for the versions certified.
WebFOCUS Client Supported Operating Systems
The following table describes the WebFOCUS client supported operating systems.
Vendor
(Processor /Architecture)
Operating System Version
Microsoft Windows 64-bit
Windows Server 2016, 2012 R2, 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
Windows 10, 8.1, and 7
(limited to development environments only)
IBM i
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V7R1
Information Builders
1. WebFOCUS Release Information
Vendor
(Processor /Architecture)
Operating System Version
IBM
(pSeries 64)
AIX 7.1
IBM
(zSeries)
Enterprise Linux Kernel-3.0.101-glibc-2.11 and up
Oracle
(Sparc 64-bit)
Oracle Solaris 11
Oracle
(x86)
Oracle Solaris 11
Red Hat
(x86_64)
Enterprise Linux 6.1 / Kernel 2.6.32 -glibc-2.6 and up
Red Hat
(IBM Power Systems)
Enterprise Linux 6.1 / Kernel 2.6.32 -glibc-2.6 and up
Hewlett Packard
(Itanium IA64)
HP-UX 11i (11.31)
Oracle Solaris 10
Oracle Solaris 10
Enterprise Linux Kernel-3.10.0-glibc-2.17 and up
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
WebFOCUS Support Statement for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE)
This topic contains information regarding WebFOCUS release support for the different Oracle
JDK versions that WebFOCUS and ReportCaster web applications are deployed on. It is also
important to verify the Java version requirements of the web application server version before
installing or upgrading Java software.
The following chart notes the status of WebFOCUS certification of Oracle J2SE releases.
However, please note:
Maintenance updates of Oracle J2SE within the same version level are supported.
Using earlier versions of WebFOCUS with later JDK versions is supported. However, the
solution to some problems might require an upgrade to a later WebFOCUS or JDK service
pack.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
13
WebFOCUS Support Statement for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE)
Support for later J2SE major releases requires certification and is not supported unless
specified in the following chart.
In the chart below, when reference is made to the following terms:
Certified - means the specified release(s) of Java have been tested within the specified
WebFOCUS Release QA (Quality Assurance) certification process.
Supported - means the specified release(s) of Java have not been tested within the
WebFOCUS Release QA (Quality Assurance) certification process but is expected to work
based on the reliability of earlier minor release updates. Limited testing in specific
WebFOCUS Product areas may have been performed.
Please report any problems you experience with a certified or supported version of Java to
Customer Support Services for evaluation.
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
WebFOCUS Application Server Minimum JVM Version Requirement
As of WebFOCUS Release 8.2, the minimum JVM version requirement for the application server
that WebFOCUS and ReportCaster web applications are deployed on is JVM Version 7. See
WebFOCUS 8.2 Java, Servlet, and Install Requirements for additional information.
J2SE Release
Certification Status
8u161
Certified with WebFOCUS Release 8.2.01M (March 2018)
8u121
Certified with WebFOCUS Release 8.2.01M (August 2017)
8u102
Certified with WebFOCUS Release 8.2.01M and 8.2.01
7u80
Certified with WebFOCUS Release 8.2.01M and 8.2.01
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
14
Information Builders
1. WebFOCUS Release Information
Supported RDBMS and Drivers
Supported relational databases for the WebFOCUS repository:
Vendor
(RDBMS)
Version
JDBC Driver
Apache Software
Foundation (Derby)
10.9.1.0
derbyclient.jar
Microsoft®
(MS SQL Server®)
2016
sqljdbc4.jar
2014
sqljdbc4.jar
2012
sqljdbc4.jar
2008
sqljdbc4.jar
10.5
db2jcc4.jar
9.7 FP4
db2jcc4.jar
9.5 FP9
db2jcc4.jar
12c
ojdbc7.jar
IBM®
(Db2)
Oracle®
(Database)
Oracle®
(MySql)
Postgresql
ojdbc6.jar
11gR2
ojdbc6.jar
11g
ojdbc6.jar
10.2
ojdbc6.jar
5.7.9
mysql-connector-java-5.1.18-bin.jar
5.5.x
mysql-connector-java-5.1.18-bin.jar
5.1.x
mysql-connector-java-5.1.18-bin.jar
9.3.4
postgresql-9.2-1002.jdbc4.jar
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
15
Supported Web and App Servers
Supported Web and App Servers
Supported Web and Applications Servers:
Vendor
Web Server & Application Server
Version
Apache Software Foundation
(Apache Tomcat®)
8.5.x (latest version)
8.0.x (latest software)
7.0.x (later software)
Apache Software Foundation
(Apache HTTP)
2.4
IBM® HTTP Server
8.5.5
IBM® WebSphere®
8.5.5.x
Microsoft® (IIS)
8.5
2.2
8.0
7.5
7.0
Oracle® WebLogic
12c (12.2.2.1, 12.1.3.0.0, 12.1.1.0.6)
Red Hat® (JBoss)
Enterprise Application Platform 6.2.4
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
WebFOCUS SOAP Web Services Minimum Axis Version Requirement
As of WebFOCUS Release 8.2, the minimum Axis version requirement for WebFOCUS SOAP
Web Services is Axis 2.
Localization (NLV) and NLS Limitations
Information Builders provides National Language Support and Localized Version support for
WebFOCUS and App Studio in select languages. Requests for additional languages may be
submitted by contacting Customer Support Services and opening a New Feature Request.
16
Information Builders
1. WebFOCUS Release Information
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
National Language Support (NLS)
National Language Support (NLS) involves reading and interpreting data stored in code pages
that represent the character sets of various international languages. Information Builders'
proprietary NLS application programming interface (API) code-page architecture transcodes
data between application client and server components and manages all sorting, case
conversion, and formatting for dates, currency, and numbers.
Localized Version Support (NLV)
A localized version is a software product in which the user interface (for example, menus and
utilities) appears in a particular language. Information Builders localized versions are
positional. Each button or menu choice is always in the same relative position in the product only the text of the labels changes. Therefore, it is easy for anyone who is familiar with an
Information Builders' product in one language to support that product in another language.
Localized versions have complete National Language Support (NLS) capability. You can access
data for any supported language, with all national characters processed, displayed, and printed
correctly.
WebFOCUS and Reporting Server
WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01 and of the Reporting Server Release 82 support the
following code pages for data processing:
ASCII Platforms
137 - U.S. English/Western
Europe (Latin 1)
923 - Latin 9 (ISO 8859-15)
437 - U.S. English
942 - Japanese (shift-JIS)
813 - Greek (ISO 8859-7)
946 - Simplified Chinese
850 - Western Europe
949 - Korean
852 - Central Europe
1089 - Arabic (ISO 8859-6)
857 - Turkish
1250 - Central Europe (Latin 2)
860 - Portuguese
1251 - Cyrillic (Windows)
WebFOCUS Release Guide
17
Localization (NLV) and NLS Limitations
862 - Hebrew
1252 - Windows (Latin 1)
863 - French Canadian
1253 - Greek (Windows)
865 - Nordic
1254 - Turkish (Windows)
866 - Cyrillic II
1255 - Hebrew (Windows)
869 - Greek
1256 - Arabic (windows)
912 - Central Europe (ISO 8859-2)
1257 - Baltic (Windows)
915 - Cyrillic (ISO 8859-5)
10942 - Japanese (EUC)
916 - Hebrew (ISO 8859-8)
10948 - Traditional Chinese
920 - Turkish (ISO 8859-9)
65001 - Unicode (UTF-8)
921 - Baltic (ISO 8859-13)
EBCDIC Platforms (IBM z/OS and IBM i)
18
37 - IBM EBCDIC United States
500 - IBM EBCDIC International European
273 - IBM EBCDIC Germany F.R./
Austria
870 - IBM EBCDIC Multilingual (Latin 2, Eastern
Europe)
277 - IBM EBCDIC Denmark, Norway
871 - IBM EBCDIC Iceland
278 - IBM EBCDIC Finland, Sweden
875 - IBM EBCDIC Greece
280 - IBM EBCDIC Italy
1025 - IBM EBCDIC Cyrillic, Multilingual
284 - IBM EBCDIC Spain/Latin
America
1026 - IBM EBCDIC Turkish
285 - IBM EBCDIC United Kingdom
1047 - IBM EBCDIC Open Systems (Latin 1)
297 - IBM EBCDIC France
1112 - IBM EBCDIC Baltic Multilanguage
424 - IBM EBCDIC Israel (Hebrew)
65002 - Unicode (UTF-EBCDIC)
Information Builders
1. WebFOCUS Release Information
The WebFOCUS Reporting Server Console, DataMigrator and the Data Management console
support the following languages.
(* Localized versions)
AMENGLISH
ARABIC
B-PORTUGUESE
CROATIAN
CZECH
DANISH
DUTCH
ENGLISH
ESTONIAN
FINNISH
FRENCH*
GERMAN*
GREEK
HEBREW
HUNGARIAN
ITALIAN
JAPANESE*
KOREAN
LATVIAN
LITHUANIAN
NORWEGIAN
POLISH
PORTUGUESE
WebFOCUS Release Guide
19
Localization (NLV) and NLS Limitations
ROMANIAN
RUSSIAN
S-CHINESE*
SLOVAK
SPANISH*
SWEDISH
T-CHINESE*
THAI
TURKISH
UKENGLISH
WebFOCUS Client and ReportCaster
The following localized versions are available for the WebFOCUS Client and ReportCaster.
Translation and certification of the following languages is done by Information Builders:
GROUP 1 (Full Translation)
Brazilian Portuguese
Chinese (Traditional and Simplified)
English
French (Canadian and Standard)
German
Italian
Japanese
Spanish
GROUP 2 (Partial Translation)
20
Information Builders
1. WebFOCUS Release Information
Limited areas have been translated and tested by Information Builders Agents and Partners.
Strings that translation has not been provided for will display in English.
Russian
GROUP 3 (Evaluating)
Limited areas have been translated and tested by Information Builders Agents and Partners for
demonstration purposes. Strings that translation has not been provided for will display in
English. Contact Information Builders for instructions to enable.
Korean
App Studio
The following localized versions are available for App Studio.
English
French
Japanese
WebFOCUS Open Portal Services - Supported Portals
WebFOCUS Open Portal Services supports SharePoint 2013.
Release, Gen Maintenance, HotFix Availability Information WebFOCUS Client and App
Studio
Release, packaging, and maintenance release information for WebFOCUS Client and App
Studio 8.2 Version 01 can be used in conjunction with the release information obtained from
the installed WebFOCUS products to determine the installed release, Feature/Service Pack,
Maintenance, or HotFix level of WebFOCUS. The Reporting Server 82 release and generation
level information certified with the WebFOCUS Client and App Studio is also included in the
table below.
Information Builders delivers WebFOCUS Client and App Studio fixes for specific customer
issues and to improve product stability via Maintenance Releases. Each Maintenance Release
is a single, cumulative package that can be applied as a full installation or as a service pack
when upgrading.
Each Maintenance Release goes through our standard quality assurance validation process
and targeted product area testing related to the fixes completed. Periodically, Information
Builders replaces a Feature/Service Pack Release on the download site at My Downloads with
a Maintenance Release that has been fully-certified. These releases are designated as Prod.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
21
WebFOCUS Reporting and Microsoft Office Support
Other Gens of Maintenance Releases are made available on demand only. These Gens are
Information Builders' mechanism for providing rapid turnaround fixes for customer-reported
problems. They are production quality gens, but they are only certified on customer-reported
platforms. They must be requested for a customer by opening a case via InfoResponse Online.
Alternatively, if you are a North American customer, you may call 1-800-736-6130 from 8:00 to
20:00 Eastern Time Monday to Friday. If you are an international customer, contact your local
office.
Information Builders publishes the "Description of Problems Fixed" in a given cumulative
Maintenance Release. This information is in the table below, and available from the
WebFOCUS Information Center. It is recommended that customers review this information in
detail in order to determine the product areas impacted and the potential scope of testing that
would be prudent to implement.
Release
WebFOCUS Client/
ReportCaster
App Studio
Reporting Server
8201M (March 2018)
Fixes
wf032318a
as032818a
82M Gen 1127
Gen 240
(English, French,
Japanese)
Fixes
8201M (August 2017)
Fixes
wf082417a
as082417a
82M Gen 1102
Gen 193
(English and French)
8201M (May 2017)
Fixes
wf050517a
as050517a
Gen 164
(English and French)
8201
Fixes
wf102016b
as102016a
Gen 138
(English)
82 Gen 1086
82 Gen 1060
For information regarding earlier releases, see the Technical Support page.
WebFOCUS Reporting and Microsoft Office Support
This topic provides details on the support of WebFOCUS reporting formats that generate output
in Microsoft® Office products. It also provides usage considerations for hyperlinks that execute
dynamic drill-down requests to procedures protected by WebFOCUS security.
22
Information Builders
1. WebFOCUS Release Information
WebFOCUS Reporting Formats and Microsoft Product Association
The following table shows the WebFOCUS formats that create Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
reports, the Microsoft Office application associations, and the Windows operating system
version availability.
WebFOCUS Formats
Microsoft Office Products
Windows Operating
System
XLSX
Microsoft Office 2016
Windows 10
Microsoft Office 2016, 2013, 2010,
2007
Windows 8
Microsoft Excel Viewer 2007
PPTX
Microsoft Office 2016
Windows 10
Microsoft Office 2016, 2013, 2010,
2007
Windows 8
Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2010
EXL2K
Microsoft Office 2003, 2000
(Functionally stabilized)
PPT
Windows 7
Windows 7
Windows XP
Windows 2000
Microsoft Office 2003, 2000
(Functionally stabilized)
Windows XP
Windows 2000
For additional information on Microsoft Office releases compatible with Windows operating
systems, see Get Windows 10 App, which has a customized compatibility report for each PC,
and provides a unified compatibility view of a PC, its onboard devices, and applications.
WebFOCUS EXL2K and PPT Formats and Microsoft Office Suite Support
Due to file type and content security policy changes implemented by Microsoft, the WebFOCUS
EXL2K and PPT formats are not supported with Microsoft Office 2013 and higher. The
WebFOCUS XLSX and PPTX formats fully support the Microsoft Excel® XLSX and Microsoft
PowerPoint® PPTX file types and content security policies of Office 2013 and higher.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
23
WebFOCUS Reporting and Microsoft Office Support
Microsoft Office 2003 Support
See Get Windows 10, which has a customized compatibility report for each PC, and provides a
unified compatibility view of a PC, its onboard devices, and applications. In WebFOCUS
products, although you will still be able to start and work in Microsoft Office 2003 applications,
Microsoft recommends that you upgrade to a later version of Office in order to continue to
receive support and updates. If your organization uses Office 2003 with the Windows® XP
operating system, see Support for Windows XP ended for information on the end of support for
Microsoft Office 2003 and Windows XP SP3.
For information on opening, editing, and saving documents, workbooks, and presentations that
were created in the later versions of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, see Microsoft Office
Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats.
WebFOCUS EXL2K and PPT Formats and Microsoft Office Viewer Products Support
Microsoft Excel Viewer and PowerPoint Viewer are read-only products. They permit only the
display and printing of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint data. The WebFOCUS EXL2K and PPT
reports are not supported in any release of the Microsoft Excel Viewer and the Microsoft
PowerPoint Viewer. The WebFOCUS XLSX and PPTX formatted reports are supported and can
be viewed with the Microsoft Excel Viewer and Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer, respectively.
Microsoft has released statements that older releases of the Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
Viewer are no longer supported. For information on the supported versions of Microsoft Office
Viewer products, see Supported versions of the Office viewers. The Microsoft Office Viewer is
available from the Microsoft Download Center.
Usage Consideration When Using Hyperlinks to Run WebFOCUS Reports
Selecting a hyperlink in a WebFOCUS report, to execute a drill-down request to run a procedure
on a secured WebFOCUS web environment, requires the security context or any session-related
cookies to be inherited. Microsoft Office products do not natively inherit the security context or
any session-related cookies created by a web-based application.
The following options are available to configure your web environment so that hyperlinks in
WebFOCUS reports will be functional within Microsoft Office products.
Configure WebFOCUS authentication to allow anonymous access. For more information, see
the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.
Use SSO with IIS/Tomcat Integrated Windows Authentication. Renegotiation occurs
automatically and the Excel and PowerPoint reports display correctly.
24
Information Builders
1. WebFOCUS Release Information
As of WebFOCUS Release 8, the Remember Me feature can be enabled on the Sign-in
page. If the end user uses the Remember Me feature, a persistent cookie is used. For
more information on how Microsoft Office products handle session-related information, see
Error message when clicking hyperlink in Office: "Cannot locate the Internet server or proxy
server.
WebFOCUS DOC Format
The WebFOCUS standard for styled and printable documents is the Acrobat® PDF format. The
WebFOCUS PDF format creates Acrobat PDF documents. The WebFOCUS DOC format produces
a character-based file, not a Microsoft Word document.
Recommended Reading
WebFOCUS EXL07/XLSX Format Supported Features Release Roadmap
WebFOCUS PPTX Format Supported Features Release Roadmap
Microsoft Windows Support Statement for WebFOCUS
Saving Report Output in Excel XLSX Format topic in the Creating Reports for WebFOCUS
Language manual, available from the WebFOCUS 8 Technical Library.
Saving and Reusing Your Report Output topic in the Creating Reports for WebFOCUS Language
manual, available from the WebFOCUS 8 Technical Library.
Additional Resources
The following Technical Support pages contain additional resources that you can reference, but
are not specific to your release.
Advisories
Compatibility Notices
Release Availability
Support Notices
Supported Operating Systems for the WebFOCUS Client
WebFOCUS 8.2 Java, Servlet, and Install Requirements
WebFOCUS 8.2 WebFOCUS and App Studio Consolidated Features
WebFOCUS EXL07/XLSX Format Supported Features Release Roadmap
WebFOCUS Release Guide
25
Additional Resources
WebFOCUS Release 8 Chart Formats Statement
WebFOCUS Server Support Statement for JVM
26
Information Builders
Chapter
2
WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release
Considerations
These topics provide release considerations and product changes for WebFOCUS
Release 8.2.01 and higher.
In this chapter:
Active Technologies
App Studio
Business Intelligence Portal
Managed Reporting
WebFOCUS Charts and Graphs
WebFOCUS Embedded Business Intelligence
InfoAssist+
Installation
Magnify Search
ReportCaster
WebFOCUS Infrastructure and Security
WebFOCUS Language
Active Technologies
The following are release considerations and product changes for Active Technologies
(WebFOCUS Reporting Server Release 82).
Support for a Floating-Point Value on a WHERE Filter
You can now use a floating-point single-precision (F) value or a floating-point double-precision
(D) value on a WHERE filter for an active report. However, we recommend that you convert a
floating-point single-precision or floating-point double-precision value to packed decimal (P) for
better precision. A WHERE filter using a floating-point value can, in some cases, produce an
imprecise result due to rounding differences unique to each database engine.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
27
App Studio
Menu Update
The Enable Transitions option on a column drop-down menu for a tabular active report on an
active dashboard has been removed.
Coordinated Fields and NOPRINT
When a coordinated field is added to an active dashboard, it is added as a NOPRINT field. The
coordinated field name is not displayed as part of the default chart title, and the coordinated
field value that is selected on the dashboard is not concatenated to the X-axis labels.
Title for Coordinated Field Drop-Down List
When you run an active dashboard with a coordinated field, Active Technologies labels the
drop-down list for the field with its title when available, instead of its name. Active
Technologies derives the title from the following sources.
1. If the Master File contains a TITLE attribute for the field, Active Technologies uses the title
specified on the TITLE attribute in the Master File. An example is TITLE = 'Product ID'.
2. If the Master File does not contain a TITLE attribute for the field, Active Technologies uses
the name specified on the FIELDNAME or FIELD attribute in the Master File. An example is
FIELD=PCD.
For more information on Master Files, see the Describing Data With WebFOCUS Language
manual.
App Studio
The following are release considerations and product changes for App Studio.
Installation and Configuration
The following are release considerations and product changes for App Studio installation and
configuration.
Installation
If you are upgrading from App Studio Release 8.2.01 to Release 8.2.01M using the
following editions, the upgrade will fail due to a missing configuration file (install.cfg):
Report Developer local or network installation
Managed Reporting Developer local or network installation
You will receive the following message:
Select path is not valid for an update. Please see install logs for
details.
28
Information Builders
2. WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations
The installation log describes the cause of this failure.
To address this issue, open the Windows File Explorer. locate the instance of the
installation you plan on upgrading (for example, C:\ibi\AppStudio82\), and create a new
subfolder called config (for example, C:\ibi\AppStudio82\config). In this folder, create an
install.cfg file with the following entries:
INSTOPT_Version=8.2
INSTOPT_Service_Pack=01
During installation, some App Studio components must be registered into your Windows
registry. The system now displays a descriptive error message when you attempt to start
App Studio, if this registration was not successful. The message specifies whether a
specific class is not registered or if a specific module is not found in the registry. Your
administrator can run thisfoci.bat to properly configure the registry.
Configuration
As of Release 8.2 Version 01M, App Studio requires Firefox 49.1 or higher. App Studio
uses Selenium WebDriver 3.0 and the corresponding stand-alone driver executables for
Firefox, Chrome, and Microsoft Edge in order to support multiple browsers. For additional
information on Selenium WebDriver, see the SeleniumHQ website at http://
www.seleniumhq.org/.
App Studio always uses Microsoft Internet Explorer for all the tools available on the
WebFOCUS Administration menu, as well as for the Upload Data functionality. This is true
even if you have selected another browser as the default.
Internet Explorer 11 is the default browser for displaying content from App Studio on
Windows 10. This is due to the fact that every time Edge opens, a command window is
opened as well, thereby cluttering a user's desktop with extraneous windows. Edge is still
an option in the Options dialog box and is also available in the Utility canvas of the HTML
page. You may also still select Edge to view or preview HTML output.
Environments
The following are release considerations and product changes for App Studio environments.
You cannot perform any actions on a Domain when the Security Center for that Domain is
open.
The Projects development node is hidden, by default. To show the Projects node in the
Environments Tree panel, from the App Studio Options dialog box, select Show Projects
area on the Environments tab.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
29
App Studio
When you click Show all content files in the App Studio Environments tree, all content types
are displayed, but Master Files are not. This is by design. To view Master Files, click Show
only Master files.
In the Save As dialog box, when creating a file of any type in App Studio, you can only save
the file in the folder in which it was created. Previously, the Save As dialog box allowed you
to navigate and save the file to a different folder.
Now, the Save As dialog box is restricted to the folder you first specified. For example, if
you created an HTML file in the Public folder, the Save As dialog box appears, as shown in
the following image.
To relocate a file after you first save it, you can still use the Cut, Copy, and Paste options in
both the Environment Details panel and the Environments Tree panel.
A refresh button has been added to all the file selection dialog boxes, such as Open File,
Save As, and Select a Data Source, as shown in the following image.
30
Information Builders
2. WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations
This button enables you to refresh the contents of the available files list prior to making a
selection.
Engine has replaced SQL Engine in the New shortcut menu, which is available in the
Procedure View panel when you right-click the procedure folder or component for which you
want to create the Engine statement.
The Use short Last Modified date format option has been removed from the Options dialog
box. This is now handled in the Windows control panel.
The Last Modified date for files and folders appears in numerous places in App Studio.
Previously, you could control the date format by using the App Studio Options. Now, the
date format has been removed from the App Studio Options. Instead, App Studio panels
and dialog boxes use the date format (AM/PM or 24-hour) that you specify in your Windows
settings.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
31
App Studio
All the file selection dialog boxes, such as Open File, Save As, and Select a Data Source,
now open with the cursor in the File name field, so that the user can start typing as soon
as the dialog box is displayed.
Previously, if you had a document open in App Studio, you were able to select an invalid
option that would result in an error message. For example, if you had an open report in your
localhost environment, you could navigate to the Environments List and choose to remove
the environment. However, Remove is not a valid option when a report is open, so an error
message would display.
Now, invalid options are automatically disabled when documents are open in App Studio. If
you have an open report in your localhost environment, you can navigate to the
Environments List dialog box. The invalid Remove and Properties buttons are grayed out, as
shown in the following image.
The Select Data Source dialog box and the Open File dialog box both require you to select a
folder in the Environments Tree panel. When you select a folder under the Domains node,
these dialog boxes no longer include the following radio button options, which were
available in the previous release:
Show All Files in Associated Paths
32
Information Builders
2. WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations
Show Files in Selected Path Only
When you select a folder under the Projects node, the Select Data Source and Open File
dialog boxes still retain these two radio button options.
Messages
The following are release considerations and product changes for App Studio messages.
Running a report, chart, HTML, or document using Internet Explorer no longer produces the
pending screen “Waiting for response...”.
When you click the User’s Manual link on the App Studio Welcome screen, the following
error message may appear: "A system shutdown has already been scheduled." This occurs
only when Internet Explorer is in the process of closing on your machine. Fully exiting
Internet Explorer can take up to 10 seconds. This error does not appear if Internet Explorer
is currently open on your machine or has been fully exited when you click User’s Manual.
HTML Page Migration
The following HTML pages created in Developer Studio are not candidates for App Studio
migration:
HTML pages created in releases earlier than Release 7.6 Version 9.
Release 7.6 Version 9 and higher pages that were reverse engineered.
Release 7.6 Version 9 and higher pages that were heavily modified outside of the tool.
HTML Canvas
The following are release considerations and product changes for the App Studio HTML
canvas.
As of Release 8.1.05M, there was a change in behavior for the Send Display Value feature.
The original behavior was as follows:
Send Display values were only sent to &VARIABLE_TEXT.
When you wanted a display value in the report, you had to use &VARIABLE_TEXT, and
then select the Send Display Value check box in the Settings panel.
WebFOCUS Release Guide
33
App Studio
As of Release 8.2.01M, the change in behavior is as follows:
If you do not use &VARIABLE_TEXT in the report, then the Send Display Value check
box, when selected, sends the Display value to &VARIABLE.
If the report has both &VARIABLE and &VARIABLE_TEXT, then selecting or not selecting
the Send Display Value check box has no impact. &VARIABLE will have the Actual value
and &VARIABLE_TEXT will have the Display value.
In Release 8.2.01M, the internal JavaScript files required by the HTML canvas need to be
loaded in a predefined order. Due to this behavior, any global JavaScript code in the
Embedded JavaScript tab may not work as expected. To remedy this, the global JavaScript
code must be placed within the onInitialUpdate function, in the Embedded JavaScript tab.
As of Release 8.2.01M, when you type an invalid character for a file name or path in an
edit control, either in the tree edit control or the Open and Save dialog box edit controls,
the edit control gives an audible beep. In the case of platform case sensitivity, the edit
control changes the case of the character to reflect the platform case sensitivity usage,
with those platforms that are case insensitive being changed to lowercase.
Prior to Release 8.2.01M, when you type an invalid character for a file name or path in an
edit control, either in the tree edit control or the Open and Save dialog box edit controls,
you are notified that an input error occurred and you need to retry the entire event after
closing the dialog box.
If you open a Developer Studio HTML file in App Studio and close the file without changes,
you are prompted to save the file in order to allow the user to convert this to an App Studio
file. You can do a Save As to keep a copy of the Developer Studio file, in addition to
converting this to an App Studio file.
If you make changes to the HTML page settings in the App Studio Options dialog box (Grid
Settings, Preview Settings), you need to press F5 to refresh an HTML page that is currently
open in order to see the changes.
An HTML page created in Developer Studio will not work with a Responsive Autoprompt. To
correct this, the page must be converted to an App Studio page, by opening and saving the
page in App Studio.
The Alt+drag option used to designate a parent/child relationship between objects in the
HTML canvas is no longer available. It has been replaced by the new Drag and Drop
command on the Positioning tab. Alternatively, you can use the new Toggle Drag and Drop
command from the HTML canvas shortcut menu.
34
Information Builders
2. WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations
When running an HTML page, the loading screen has been changed to use a spinning
wheel graphic instead of text, as shown in the following image.
The Font dialog box used for selecting the font size of text in an HTML page has been
removed.
Previously, in an HTML page, a Font dialog box was displayed to specify the font for the
selected text. This was the case whether you clicked the ellipsis button next to Font in the
Properties panel, or when you right-clicked highlighted text, pointed to Style, and clicked
Font from the shortcut menu.
Now, in both cases the Style Composer dialog box is displayed with Font selected
automatically, as shown in the following image. Also, in the Size section, when you enter a
specific font size, the unit defaults to px (pixels).
Previously, when a new parameter was added to the Parameters tab on an HTML page, it
was difficult for the user to associate the parameter to a report and ensure that it was
included when the report ran.
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App Studio
Now, the Apply To field has been added to the Settings panel so that a new parameter can
easily be linked to a procedure, as shown in the following image.
Previously, only the Function name could be specified for a JavaScript call in the Tasks &
Animations panel.
Now, the JavaScript call functionality allows a user to include parameters in the Function
Name field in the Tasks & Animations panel. The parameter(s) must be included in
parentheses and, if there are more than one, they must be separated by a comma. For
example:
IbComposer_triggerExecution(taskName,index);
The Files Utility group has been removed from the HTML canvas Utilities tab. Instead of
Import, the Reference existing procedure functionality provides better reusability.
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2. WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations
HTML canvas files in App Studio are not designed to be edited in an outside editor and they
may fail to run if they are edited manually.
Previously, the warning message was:
This file has been manually modified. There is no guarantee
that the tool will be able to open this file in a usable state. Do
you want to continue?
Now, the warning message lets you decide how to open the file:
This file has been manually modified. There is no guarantee
that the canvas will be able to open this file in a usable state.
Click "Yes" to open the HTML Canvas, or "No" to open the Windows
associated app.
You can now see all previously-created class names in the Style rule hierarchy window of
the Add Style Element dialog box. You invoke this dialog box from the Embedded JavaScript
and Embedded CSS tabs of an HTML page in App Studio. Prior to this upgrade, previouslycreated class names were not displayed.
On the HTML canvas, you can add a Save Selection button to a page. At run time, the user
can select given parameters and save them in a snapshot by clicking the Save Selection
button. This creates a static HTML page in the same folder as the source page. As of
Release 8.2 Version 01, the static Save Selection pages are no longer editable in the
HTML canvas or in the text editor.
The styling options for borders of HTML objects in App Studio can be accessed from two
places:
The Properties panel
The Border Style Properties window
Previously, the verbiage for the available border style values differed slightly between these
two places. Now, the verbiage has been unified.
In the Relationships group, on the Positioning tab of the HTML canvas, the following
commands have been deprecated and will be removed in a future release of App Studio:
Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Right, Bottom Left. The Show command is now enabled by
default.
You can now change an entry in the Control Type column in the New Parameters dialog box
by right-clicking in the field and selecting New control or Existing control.
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App Studio
Report Development
The following are release considerations and product changes for App Studio report
development.
The Report canvas displays a dialog box if there is a StyleSheet error, and allows you to
launch the Text Editor on a tool failure.
In App Studio Release 8.1 Version 05M, if you are not registered on the Reporting Server
and try to access the Report canvas, you receive an unauthorized access error message.
This error message is included in the Reporting Server edaprint.log file. The message is
suppressed by App Studio and you gain access to the Report canvas.
In App Studio Release 8.2 Version 01, that behavior has changed. If you are not registered
on the Reporting Server, and try to access the Report canvas, the following error message
displays, as shown in the following image.
If you click OK to continue, the following App Studio dialog box opens.
If you click Yes to continue, the Report canvas opens, but no styling is applied.
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Possible Workarounds
The following are possible workarounds:
For the Reporting Server Basic User role, add the Read privilege to the home\etc
directory for the Basic User, using the following steps:
1. In the Access Control page, right-click the Basic User role and select Directory/File
Privileges.
2. Once the directories and privileges display, right-click the srv82\home directory and
select Show All Directories/Files.
3. When the home\etc and other directories are listed, click the Read privilege and
save the changes, as shown in the following image.
Place the style sheets in a different Reporting Server subfolder and allow Read access
to that directory for Basic users.
Register WebFOCUS groups to the Reporting Server, Server Administrator group (this is
not recommended for App Studio developers).
Note: The Server Administrator group is the only group that has sufficient default
privileges to read from the home\etc directory.
Note: For more information on Server Access Control, see the Server Administration
manual.
In Release 8.1 Version 05M, if you right-click a Master File and click Create Report or
Create Chart, or point to New and click Report or Chart from a folder, the user is presented
with an Open File dialog box to select the Master File again. In Release 8.2 Version 01, if
you right-click a Master File, and create a new report or chart, the Report canvas or Chart
canvas opens, respectively, without this additional step.
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App Studio
App Studio no longer delays the creation of new content when the system first retrieves
Master Files from a Reporting Server. If the data set is exceptionally large, it may take a
few minutes for the retrieval to complete. Previously, there was a block placed during the
retrieval period that prevented the creation of new content, including:
Running the Report Wizard
Running the Chart Wizard
Running the HTML/Document Wizard
Creating a Join or Define
Now, the block has been removed and new content can be created immediately.
Additionally, there is new system behavior that occurs during the retrieval period. All Open
File dialog boxes are now restricted to Show Files in Selected Path Only. The option to
Show All Files in Associated Paths is unavailable, as shown in the following image.
When the retrieval period is completed (which is typically less than one minute), the option
to Show All Files in Associated Paths becomes available again.
On the active reports Options tab, the Chart Engine group and its corresponding options
have been removed. App Studio has been enhanced to use a single chart engine, so the
previous options are now invalid.
The active dashboard option has been removed from the File type list on the HTML/
Document Wizard.
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The LOTUS, WK1, and SYLK output formats are no longer supported in App Studio. They
have been removed from the Unstyled formats selection on the Output Format menu,
located in the Output Types group on the Format tab of the Report canvas. These format
types are extremely old, and the products that read them no longer exist.
As you add objects to the canvas with the Autosize Children option turned on, the existing
objects will temporarily move out of the way so that you can draw the new objects.
Afterward, the existing objects will return to the correct positioning.
The contents of the File name field on the Open File dialog box have been simplified to
display only the name of the selected file. The path, server, and machine components have
been removed. The basic configuration of this dialog box is available from the App Studio
icon and the Quick Access toolbar. This mode includes the configured environments list,
the file list, the File name drop-down list, the file type drop-down list, plus the Details,
Refresh, OK, and Cancel buttons, as shown in the following image.
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App Studio
When using the Wizard to create a new Report or Chart, the caption is renamed to Select
Data Source. A Use Qualified Path check box is included along with the Finish, Cancel, and
Help buttons, as shown in the following image.
Note: The Back button is included only when the Wizard is launched from the Ribbon.
Previously in App Studio, all links and drilldowns were underlined. Now you have the option
of using links and drilldowns without the underline.
You can suppress underlines using the new No Underline button in the Style group, as
shown in the following image. The No Underline button appears as an underlined letter U
with a red slash through it.
Previously, you had to save all the components in a procedure before it could be run.
Now, you can run a procedure directly from the Procedure View panel using the Run
complete procedure option from the shortcut menu without saving it.
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2. WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations
Note: If you select Run complete procedure when the procedure is in an invalid state, you
will get an error message asking if you would like to run the procedure with the last good
content.
Previously, a chart always loaded into the BI Portal as an iFrame.
Now, this can be changed in the Properties panel, under the Miscellaneous section, by
setting the Load in iFrame property to No, as shown in the following image. This loads the
chart as a div, which allows any drop-down content to display correctly.
Note: This is only necessary if charts or reports with drop-down controls are being loaded to
a BI Portal.
The Expression Builder enables you to create report filters quickly by selecting fields,
relations, operators, and values from lists. Filters are saved under the Reports Variables
folder in the Object Inspector pane of the Report canvas.
Previously, the field name you selected for the filter was used as the prompt text for the
variable. Now, the field title attribute, defined in the Master File, is used by default as the
prompt text for the variable. If no field title attribute is defined, the field name is used.
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Business Intelligence Portal
The following image shows both the name and the title for the Product,Category field.
On the Report canvas, on the Images tab, in the Options group, the Show Images in Report
View option has been renamed Show Images in Design View. Also, the Report view tab at
the bottom of the Report canvas, has been renamed Design.
Active Flex is no longer supported as an output format in App Studio and has been removed
from the Format tab.
Business Views Plus (BV+)
The following are known issues when saving a generic Cube Master File with the
BV_NAMESPACE=OFF attribute in the App Studio Metadata canvas:
A level field must be in a level-based hierarchy in order for the field to be displayed in the
Object Inspector. The workaround is to move the field to a level-based hierarchy folder.
Filters and measures for the wf_retail data source are shown in a different order in the
Dimension Tree and Metadata canvas.
Business Intelligence Portal
The following are release considerations and product changes for the Business Intelligence
Portal:
Accessibility support is not available for the Business Intelligence Portal.
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If you are using WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01 with the Oracle WebLogic Application
Server, you must upgrade to version 12.1.1.0.6.
The About WebFOCUS dialog box replaces the Build Version field with two new fields,
Package Name and Release ID. By identifying the name of the individual package that is
currently installed, in addition to the number of the current release, it is possible to identify
the current installation in more detail than was possible in the Build Version field.
As of Release 8.2 Version 01M, the title of the My Content folder cannot be changed, by
design. This option was incorrectly available in earlier 8.2.x releases.
As of Release 8.2 Version 01M, when displayed in the Resources tree in Mode Normal, the
title assigned to a My Content folder imported through the Change Management process is
no longer the name of the user that is signed in to WebFOCUS. The title now correctly
appears as, My Content.
As of Release 8.2 Version 01, users can no longer edit the text inside a Text Panel at run
time. In prior releases, this text could be modified at run time, but the changes could not
be saved, causing confusion. Users can copy this text to their clipboard, if desired.
Managed Reporting
The following are release considerations and product changes for WebFOCUS Managed
Reporting:
As of WebFOCUS Release 8.2, parameter-based simple filters are required to have a
specified default value or a value entered by the user. If this validation improvement
impacts your existing reports that use the Autoprompt facility, contact Customer Support for
assistance.
WebFOCUS Charts and Graphs
The following are release considerations and product changes for WebFOCUS charts and
graphs.
HTML5 Upgrade
The following are release considerations and product changes for HTML5:
Map requests are now required to use strict JSON syntax. This means that all property and
object names and all string values must be enclosed in double quotation marks.
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WebFOCUS Charts and Graphs
If a chart request does not contain code to place the legend in a specific position, the chart
engine chooses a default position. In older versions of WebFOCUS, the default position was
under the chart frame. However, in WebFOCUS 8.2.x, the default position is on the right
side of the chart frame. This allows many more legend entries to be viewed.
The chart legend position may switch from the bottom to the right when opening a request
in an 8.2.x version of InfoAssist+ that was created in earlier versions of WebFOCUS. To
place the legend back under the chart, right-click the chart legend, point to Legend Position,
and click Bottom.
The SET CURRSYMB command, which specifies a currency symbol to be displayed with
currency values whose format specifications include the M or N display options, is now
supported for all output formats, except AHTML, APDF, and AFLEX.
The following JSON properties have been deprecated and replaced in Release 8.1:
xaxisNumeric and xaxisOrdinal have been replaced with xaxis.
zaxisOrdinal has been replaced with zaxis.
fillMode has been replaced with fillEffect,
pieProperties:feelerLine has been replaced with dataLabels:feelerLine.
yaxis:colorScale has been replaced with colorScale.
The following JSON properties have been deprecated and replaced in Release 8.2 Version 01:
The data text labels properties have been changed from chart-wide properties to seriesspecific properties.
The showDataValues property has been deprecated.
The displayMode and callback properties have been replaced by the content property.
WebFOCUS Graph API Upgrade
The following is an upgrade consideration and product change for the Graph API:
The API call setTextFormatPattern(getDataText(), "formatstring") no longer works to format
ToolTips. Instead use setTextFormatPattern(getSeries(0), "formatstring").
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WebFOCUS Embedded Business Intelligence
Embedded Business Intelligence (BI) provides the capability of incorporating WebFOCUS
content and functionality (features) into an external application. WebFOCUS RESTful Web
Services and Open Portal Services are two key approaches and techniques that can be used to
embed BI into an external application. In previous WebFOCUS releases, the following
standalone documentation titles were published for these areas:
WebFOCUS RESTful Web Services Developer's Guide
WebFOCUS Open Portal Services Administration Guide
As of WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M and higher, the new WebFOCUS Embedded
Business Intelligence User's Guide is now available, which introduces WebFOCUS embedded BI,
and also incorporates the WebFOCUS RESTful Web Services and WebFOCUS Open Portal
Services documentation.
As a result, the WebFOCUS RESTful Web Services Developer's Guide and WebFOCUS Open
Portal Services Administration Guide are no longer published as standalone documentation
titles. You must refer to the corresponding sections in the new WebFOCUS Embedded Business
Intelligence User's Guide for this information.
InfoAssist+
The following are release considerations and product changes for InfoAssist+.
General Enhancements
The following are general release considerations:
In order to avoid issues with Esri Choropleth maps in Release 8.2 Version 01M, it is
recommended that you upgrade to Release 8.2 Version 02.
In Report mode, the Auto Drill option has been moved from the Navigation group into its
own group on the Format tab. This change allows you to use Auto Drill at the same time as
other features in the Navigation group, such as On-demand Paging, Freeze, and Table of
Contents options. The Auto Drill option is on the right side of the Format tab.
To support the easy transformation of alpha (text) fields containing numeric values for use
within a WebFOCUS report, the assignment of text values to numeric formatted fields will
no longer return an error. This means that when working with values in the Define,
Compute, or Filter dialog boxes in InfoAssist+, you can assign an alpha (text) value to a
field with a numeric format without error or validation.
When working with Defines and Computes, any alpha (text) value will be transformed into a
zero in the numeric field. The following message displays:
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Installation
(FOC1130) FORMAT CONVERSION ERROR FIELD/KEY
This is a warning, rather than an error.
Enhancements to Charting
The following are release considerations related to charting:
In Chart mode, the Embed Header and Footer in the chart option is enabled, by default. This
setting (EMBEDHEADING) automatically includes the Header and Footer, if specified, in the
chart. You can access this option in the Header & Footer dialog box by clicking Text
options for chart. You can change this default value, as needed.
When working with measure and dimension fields in a chart, measure fields are not
automatically moved to the vertical axis when the horizontal axis contains a dimension
field. In these cases, the measure field will replace the existing dimension field in the
horizontal axis.
When working with charts that use the new bucket syntax, the 1x4 and 2x2 views are
disabled in the Query Panel group on the View tab. If you switch from a chart without the
new bucket syntax or a report to a chart with the new bucket syntax, the default Query view
is Tree.
Installation
The following are release considerations for installation:
Anti-Virus and Malware Protection Applications During an Installation, Upgrade, or Uninstall
For new installations, upgrades, and uninstalls, it is recommended to turn off any anti-virus
and anti-malware protection programs you have for the duration of the installation, upgrade, or
uninstall process, as these applications may block, interfere, or slow down the installation,
upgrade, or uninstall process, and in turn, possibly cause a failure.
Restart your protection programs when the installation, upgrade, or uninstall completes. If you
chose to leave protection programs active and an error occurred, the protection logs should be
checked and the installation, upgrade, or uninstall repeated after protection deactivation. As
there are many protection vendors, we cannot be specific as to what to expect in logs or during
a failure, aside from the error likely being a file in use error.
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If you are using Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware, and during upgrade installations of the
WebFOCUS Reporting Server, WebFOCUS Business User Edition, or App Studio, you receive a
File Error similar to the following image, this is an indication that files are locked by the
Malwarebytes software.
To proceed, open the Windows Services application and stop the Malware service,
MB3Service, as shown in the following image.
Return to the installation program and click Retry on the File Error dialog box.
Upgrade Installation
As new versions of files are included in packaging, the upgrade installation needs to remove
the old versions of files from ..\WebFOCUS82\webapps\webfocus\WEB-INF\lib\ to ensure
that there are no duplicates.
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Magnify Search
The upgrade of Release 8.2.01 to Release 8.2.01M results in duplicate POI files as a new
version of these files was introduced. The following files need to be removed after performing
an upgrade:
..\ibi\WebFOCUS82\webapps\webfocus\WEB-INF\lib\poi-3.14-20160307.jar
..\ibi\WebFOCUS82\webapps\webfocus\WEB-INF\lib\poi-excelant-3.14-20160307.jar
..\ibi\WebFOCUS82\webapps\webfocus\WEB-INF\lib\poi-ooxml-3.14-20160307.jar
..\ibi\WebFOCUS82\webapps\webfocus\WEB-INF\lib\poi-ooxmlschemas-3.14-20160307.jar
..\ibi\WebFOCUS82\webapps\webfocus\WEB-INF\lib\poi-scratchpad-3.14-20160307.jar
Magnify Search
The following is a release consideration and product change for Magnify Search.
Lock Files Remain in Lucene Version 4
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M, where Lucene version 4 is implemented for the index,
there is a change in the behavior of how lock files are handled. In Lucene version 4, the lock
file is still present, even after the index is closed. In previous versions of Lucene, the lock file
was deleted automatically after the index was closed.
ReportCaster
The following are release considerations and product changes for ReportCaster:
The Google Library Search has been desupported. The Magnify replacement is not yet
available.
The Address Book member type for Distribution Lists has been changed from character to
string to prevent Axis SOAP exceptions. A ReportCaster API application that creates a
Distribution List may be affected by this change and may need to be changed or
recompiled.
In past releases, the WebFOCUS Client Universal Profile was executed by ReportCaster
when a WebFOCUS Repository procedure was run, but not when a WebFOCUS Reporting
Server procedure was run.
As of Release 8.2 Version 01M, the Universal Profile now works with both procedures.
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2. WebFOCUS 8.2.01 and Higher Release Considerations
As of Release 8.2 Version 01M, FLEX, VISDIS, and VISDISAE report output formats are no
longer supported. If you are editing a task that uses one of these formats within a
schedule, you can change the output format in the dialog box that opens.
If you click OK, and the output format of the report is set to FLEX, the task output is
saved as AHTML.
If you click OK, and the output format of the report is set to VISDIS or VISDISAE, the
task output is saved as HTML.
if you click Exit, the output format will not be changed, and any changes that you made
to the task will not be saved.
WebFOCUS Infrastructure and Security
The following are release considerations and product changes for WebFOCUS security:
As of WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M, links to Technical Content resources, including
the WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01 Application and Enterprise Editions Information
Center, have been updated to secure URLs, beginning with https. Earlier links to these
sites will be automatically redirected to the new https sites. You may be prompted with a
message, depending on the browser you use and the security you have configured on your
machine.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M, the Synchronize User Information check box,
found on the External page of the Security tab in the Administration Console, includes two
new options that are activated when this check box is selected.
These options enable administrators to identify the authentication provider or the
authorization provider as the source of information for automatic updates made to the
Description and EMail Address fields whenever a user signs in.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2, Name variables assigned to a server application directory must
use lowercase characters exclusively. Therefore, when creating a model domain for a
custom resource template, the value assigned to the Name field must be typed only in
lowercase characters. For example, the value %%name%% is permitted, but the value %
%NAME%% or %%Name%% should not be used. Similarly, any updates to the name variable
in the scenario.xml file, stored in the custom resource template folder, must use lowercase
characters exclusively.
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WebFOCUS Infrastructure and Security
Name values assigned to domains and groups can use uppercase, lowercase, and mixedcase letters. However, name values created for application folders on the Reporting Server
must use lowercase letters exclusively. If you export a template with a Name field that
contains mixed case characters, the application directory name is converted to lowercase
characters, and an unexpected additional variable is produced. To prevent this outcome,
ensure that all values assigned to the Name field of a custom resource template use
lowercase letters exclusively.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2, display entries in the License Information dialog box, found in
the Administration Console by clicking License from the menu bar and then clicking
WebFOCUS client, were changed to accommodate changes to the license key
implementation. These changes affect the User Licenses section of the dialog box, and the
Product Component Section.
User License Types
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2, the user type groups listed in this section have been changed
as follows:
Total Users (TU). Identifies the total number of users in the repository. This total
includes users created during and after product installation.
Portal Users (PU). Continues to identify the number of users with portal access
privileges. Because users with InfoAssist+ privileges must also be granted portal
privileges, the number of portal users will never be less than the number of InfoAssist
users. In the 8.2.01 Enterprise Edition and Application Edition, this category also
includes the number of users who maintain ReportCaster-only privileges or Library-only
privileges.
InfoAssist+ Users (IA). Identifies the number of users with InfoAssist privileges. This
count includes users with InfoAssist or InfoAssist+ privileges because an InfoAssist+
license includes the InfoAssist and Data Visualization product components.
Product Components List Updates
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2, changes to entries in the Product Components list reflect
changes in component names and configuration that took place in Release 8.2, including
the following changes:
Legacy Dashboard is discontinued as of Release 8.2. Instead, InfoAssist Basic
supports customers upgrading to Release 8.2 with an existing Legacy Dashboard
license and a WF Portal license.
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InfoAssist+ combines InfoAssist and Data Discovery. The former products, InfoAssist
and InfoAssist Basic, continue to be available in Release 8.2. However, these products
appear in the product component list only if they are included in the license key.
Personal InfoAssist is discontinued as of Release 8.2.
WebServices replaces WebServices Enablement as of Release 8.2.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2, the user type groups listed in the License Analysis Dialog Box
have been changed as follows:
Total Users (TU)
Portal Users (PU)
InfoAssist+ Users (IA)
For detailed definitions of these user types, see the previous note.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M, templates that specify WebFOCUS Client message
information and user interfaces, such as the Deferred Reporting interface, were removed
from the single file, ENtemplates.xml, and separated into individual files. These files are
located in the prod directory, found in drive:\ibi\WebFOCUS82\client\wfc\etc\prod. To
create a customized version of a standard template, customers can take a copy of a
standard template file from the prod directory, place the copy in the custom directory, found
in drive:\ibi\WebFOCUS82\client\wfc\etc\custom, and adjust the standard template to
their requirements. When invoking a template, the WebFOCUS Client first checks the
custom directory and uses the customized template file if it is located there. If no
customized template file is present, the Client uses the standard template file in the prod
directory.
The maximum number of characters in the WF Repository Summary field on the Properties
dialog box has been increased from 512 to 2048 characters.
In Release 8.2, the new Log Files page replaces the Traces folder and the individual log file
pages that appeared under it. Therefore, entries for all log files now appear on the Log Files
page. In the Administration Console, the new Log Files page appears on the new
Diagnostics tab under the Diagnostic folder. The list of log files on that page now identifies
the name of the log file, the name of the logger, the URL that contributes events to the log
file, and the log level, that is, the level of detail captured in records of events.
Administrators can adjust the log level for any log file except the audit log file to capture
the level of detail required for troubleshooting support.
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WebFOCUS Infrastructure and Security
The Zip All button that appeared in WebFOCUS 8.1 on the All Clients, Client Coordinator,
MR Deferred Ticket Cleanup Utility, and WFServlet pages now appears on the Log File page.
This button captures copies of all log files and the system event records they contain in a
zip file format. When you click this button, the log files capture records of events from the
start of the current day until the time the zip file is created.
The License Information dialog box limits its display of product components to those made
available in Release 8.2. Therefore, the product component display for license keys
configured from an earlier version of WebFOCUS 8 no longer includes entries for Legacy
Dashboard and Personal InfoAssist. InfoAssist Basic is included only if the license key
includes Legacy Tools.
As of Release 8.2, the Client License Key Expiration Warning display period was reduced
from 30 to 14 days prior to expiration date. By default, a warning message for the client
license key expiration date begins to appear fourteen (14) days before the actual expiration
date. The warning message displays the expiration date and the number of days remaining
until that date. It appears only to administrators during sign on, and it is written to the
event.log file located in the logs directory of the WebFOCUS Client installation.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M, the following deprecated settings no longer
appear on the Configuration tab, Client Settings page of the Administration Console:
Expire Reports
Cache_Control
Automatic Signon
The Expire Reports, Cache_Control, and Automatic Signon settings were hidden because
there is no need to update the default values assigned to them.
Web Services Traces Relocated. In WebFOCUS Release 8.2, the Web Services page,
previously found in the Diagnostics Section of the Configuration Tab, under the Traces
folder, has been discontinued. To view traces of URL calls that used to appear on that
page, open the Session Monitor or Session Viewer instead. Traces captured during your
selected session are available in those locations for your review.
The tcnative-1.dll for Tomcat is disabled due to reported problems with ipv6 support.
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In Kerberos authentication, Kerberos appends the Windows domain of the user to the user
ID passed to WebFOCUS, in the format user ID@domain.com. WebFOCUS Release 8.0
leaves the domain information intact when completing the sign-in process. By default,
WebFOCUS Release 8.2 strips the domain from the value, leaving just the user ID. The
user ID is then used to complete the sign-in process. For more information, see the
Authentication and Authorization chapter in the WebFOCUS Security and Administration
manual.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2, Roles in the Security Center dialog box have been updated as
follows:
DomainDeveloper. Added the Portal Page Designer privilege (opPageDesigner) to the
Advanced Reporting folder and the Create Portal (opCreatePortal) privilege to the
Application Development folder. The Create Portal privilege applies only to new portals
that are created under a domain in Release 8.2. The DomainDeveloper role does not
support the privilege to create portals in earlier releases.
DomainGroupAdmin. Moved the Create Portal privilege (opCreatePortal) from the Group
Administration folder to the Application Development folder, and cleared that privilege to
remove the privilege to create portals from the role of the Group Administrator.
These changes move the privilege to create portals within a domain from the Group
Administrators to the Developers, and add the privilege to design portal pages within a
domain to Developers. You may need to adjust role assignments after the upgrade to
ensure that all users within a domain continue to maintain their full range of privileges.
In new installations of WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01, the Developers group does not
appear in the top level of the Groups hierarchy. Instead, Developer groups are created as
sub-groups of individual domains. The top-level Developers group was removed from the
Groups hierarchy to help administrators avoid assigning users to a Developers group that
does not maintain a range of privileges that adequately supports their activities in the new
release.
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WebFOCUS Infrastructure and Security
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M, the X-Frame-Options Header check box, located in
the Filters page of the Administration Console Configuration tab, was renamed Allow
Embedding and moved to the Cross-Origin Settings dialog box. To continue to allow
WebFOCUS content to be embedded in other applications, customers who previously
cleared the X-Frame-Options Header check box must now select the new Allow Embedding
check box. They can also optionally specify the URLs of one or more allowed web hosts in
the new Allowed Origins field under the Allow Embedding check box, for improved security.
To locate the new Cross-Origin Settings dialog box, open the Administration Console, and
click the Security tab. Under the Security Zones folder, click the Authentication node for the
Security Zone that supports embedded applications. To open the dialog box, click the
Cross-Origin Settings link located in the Actions section of the Authentication page.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M, the New User dialog box contains the new Create
button. This button allows administrators to create multiple new users without closing the
New User dialog box.
In WebFOCUS Release 8.2, the following changes were made to the Available Privileges list
in the New Role dialog box, located in the Security Center Roles tab.
The following privileges were added:
Distribute to File System (opDistributeFileSystem). Added to the Scheduling and
Distribution section.
Manage ReportCaster Library Report Deletion (opRCExpLibraryDelete). Added to the
Administration section.
Manage ReportCaster Log Purge (opRCPurgeJobLogs). Added to the Administration
section.
Manage ReportCaster Watch List Subscription (opRCUnsubscribe). Added to the
Administration section.
The following privileges were renamed:
Development Traces (opDevTraces). Renamed to Session Traces and placed in
alphabetical order in the Application Development section.
Edit Group Names (opRenameGroup). Renamed to Group Rename and placed in
alphabetical order in the Group Administration section.
The following privileges were relocated:
Create Portal (opCreatePortal). Moved from the Group Administration section to the
Application Development section.
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Privileges in the Administration section were reorganized in alphabetical order, causing the
following privileges to be relocated within that section:
System Tracing (opWFAdminTraces)
Toggle Repository View (opToggleTree)
The following privilege now appears conditionally:
Run Procedures with OLAP (opOlap). Appears in the Basic Reporting Section only if the
Enable OLAP check box, located on the Other page of the Administration Console
Configuration tab, has been selected.
When using the Google Chrome™ browser, the Close command on the Administration
Console Menu bar does not close the Client Verification page, if that page opens in a
window with multiple tabs after the WebFOCUS Client installation is complete. To close this
page, click the Close button on the browser tab that displays it. This issue occurs only when
the Client Verification page opens after an installation. It does not occur when you open the
Client Verification page by clicking the Client Verification node in the Administration Console
Diagnostics tab.
WebFOCUS Release 8.2 Version 01M includes a new URL to run report requests:
http://host:port/ibi_apps/run/ibfs/WFC/Repository/Domain/ReportName
where:
host:port
is the server name and port of the local installation of WebFOCUS.
Domain
is the name of the domain folder that contains the report.
ReportName
is the name of the report itself.
This new URL does not replace the previously-developed URL to run reports:
http://host:port/ibi_apps/rs/ibfs/WFC/Repository/Domain/ReportName
The syntax in the new URL was updated to address bugs in single sign-on requests that
were failing with the AuthenticationCredentialsNotFound exception. All application requests
using the older syntax should be updated to use the new URL.
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WebFOCUS Language
The Custom Request Validation (IBI_REQUEST_VALIDATION) setting was removed from the
Filters page of the Administration Console Configuration tab in WebFOCUS Release 8.2
Version 01M. For more information about this setting, please contact the Customer
Support Team.
WebFOCUS Language
The following are release considerations and product changes for the WebFOCUS reporting
language.
Change to Default Processing of Joins to Flat Files
The default value for the ENGINE INT CACHE SET command has changed from OFF to ON.
In fixed format or delimited sequential files, any field can be a cross-referenced field. However,
both the host and cross-referenced file must be retrieved in ascending order on the named
(key) fields, if the command ENGINE INT CACHE SET OFF is in effect. In this situation, if the
data is not in the same sort order, errors are displayed and a many-to-many join is not
supported.
However, if ENGINE INT CACHE SET ON is in effect, the files do not have to be in ascending
order and a many-to-many join is supported. ON is now the default value. Therefore, the
number of rows returned from a join may be different than in the prior release.
You can revert to the behavior from prior releases by including ENGINE INT CACHE SET OFF in
edasprof.
A delimited file used as the cross-referenced file in the join must consist of only one segment.
If the join is based on multiple fields, a fixed format sequential file must consist of a single
segment. If the cross-referenced fixed format sequential file contains only one segment, the
host file must have a segment declaration.
Expression Handling: Rounding With Internally Used Packed Fields
Continuous improvement to our expression handler, providing more efficient and more accurate
results, may expose some rounding differences when using packed fields. Enhancements have
improved the accuracy of the calculations when working with packed numbers. Rounding of a
packed field is done at the time of storage, thus changing the actual number. This is different
from precision-based fields which round when they are displayed, ensuring that the original
number is retained. Therefore, there may be slight rounding differences with packed numbers
apparent in this release, but they are an improvement over previous releases.
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Raised Limit for RECAP Phrases in Non-FML TABLE Requests
The limit of non-FML RECAP phrases is now 64 ON sortfield RECAP phrases per sort field. In
prior releases, seven RECAP phrases were supported for each sort field plus one ON TABLE
RECAP phrase.
Conversion of Alphanumeric Strings to Numbers
The latest version of WebFOCUS has been improved to handle the conversion of alphanumeric
strings to numbers automatically on assignment in an expression. For example, if the
character string '12345' is assigned to an integer field, you will no longer get a FOC282
conversion error.
(FOC282) RESULT OF EXPRESSION IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE FORMAT OF FIELD: %1
The left-hand side of the expression has a different format from
that yielded by the right-hand side of the expressions. Alpha
fields may have the wrong length or a format may be needed after
the fieldname.
The string will be converted to an integer as specified in the format of the receiving field. If the
character string is not purely numeric, for example, '$12345', the conversion will fail and the
value 0 will be assigned. Since this is now a runtime error, rather than a parsing error as in the
case of the FOC282, the new FOC1130 error message can be seen in the browser view
source.
(FOC1130) FORMAT CONVERSION ERROR FIELD/KEY %1%2%3%4
An error occurred attempting to convert the
specified field from its ACTUAL to USAGE
format. Either the ACTUAL format is described
incorrectly or the data may be invalid. Check the MFD.
In the past, a FOC282 error would be generated and the request would be aborted. The new
behavior allows the request to run and is consistent with our longstanding user function
behavior, which returns 0 in the case of failure in the user function. If your output now includes
an entire column or row of zeroes, it would be wise to verify the output, as it may be indicative
of FOC1130 runtime errors.
One area to be aware of is the use of column notation in a request that includes COMPUTEs or
NOPRINTed fields that will change the numbering of the columns. SET CNOTATION=ALL/
PRINTONLY/EXPLICIT should be used in these cases to make sure that the column numbers
you are requesting are the correct corresponding columns in the internal matrix.
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WebFOCUS Language
Change to Use of Prefix in JOIN AS Commands
In a series of JOIN commands without tag names, when the same file is used multiple times,
the join name is used as a prefix for duplicate field names. One example of this type of JOIN
sequence is a recursive join.
In prior releases, if you prefixed a field with a join name within a JOIN command, the JOIN was
added to the table of joins whether the need for the prefixed name could be established or not.
If the prefixed name could be resolved at run time, the request would run without error. In the
current release, unresolved prefixed names in a JOIN command generate an error message
and terminate processing as soon as the JOIN command is issued.
The following request produces three data sources:
File ALLEMP contains employee IDs and Manager IDs.
File HOLDEMP contains employee IDs and employee names.
File HOLDZIP contains employee IDs and zip codes.
The following request creates these data sources.
DEFINE FILE EMPLOYEE
ZIP/A20=GETTOK(ADDRESS_LN3,20,-1,' ',20,'A20');
END
TABLE FILE EMPLOYEE
PRINT LAST_NAME
COMPUTE MANAGER_ID/A9=IF MANAGER_ID NE ' ' AND
DEPARTMENT EQ LAST DEPARTMENT THEN MANAGER_ID ELSE EMP_ID;
BY DEPARTMENT
ON TABLE HOLD AS ALLEMP
END
TABLE FILE EMPLOYEE
PRINT SEG.EMP_ID
BY EMP_ID
ON TABLE HOLD AS HOLDEMP FORMAT FOCUS INDEX EMP_ID
END
TABLE FILE EMPLOYEE
SUM
ZIP
BY EMP_ID
ON TABLE HOLD AS HOLDZIP FORMAT FOCUS INDEX EMP_ID
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JOIN commands will be used to generate the following structure using these files.
The following request generates the JOIN structure and issues a TABLE request against it.
JOIN EMP_ID IN ALLEMP TO EMP_ID IN HOLDEMP AS J1
JOIN J1EMP_ID IN ALLEMP TO EMP_ID IN HOLDZIP AS J3
JOIN MANAGER_ID IN ALLEMP TO EMP_ID IN HOLDEMP AS J2
JOIN J2EMP_ID IN ALLEMP TO EMP_ID IN HOLDZIP AS J4
TABLE FILE ALLEMP
PRINT EMP_ID MANAGER_ID
LAST_NAME J2LAST_NAME
J3ZIP J4ZIP
ON TABLE SET PAGE NOLEAD
ON TABLE SET STYLE *
GRID=OFF,$
ENDSTYLE
END
Running the request in the current release generates the following message.
(FOC370) THE FIELDNAME USED IN JOIN CANNOT BE FOUND IN THE FILE: J1EMP_ID
BYPASSING TO END OF COMMAND
In prior releases, this request would run without error. However, since the need for the prefixed
field name J1EMP_ID in JOIN J3 was not established by the time that JOIN command was
issued, in the current release the error is produced and the request is terminated.
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WebFOCUS Language
Now, reverse the second and third JOIN commands.
JOIN CLEAR *
JOIN EMP_ID IN ALLEMP TO EMP_ID IN HOLDEMP AS J1
JOIN MANAGER_ID IN ALLEMP TO EMP_ID IN HOLDEMP AS J2
JOIN J1EMP_ID IN ALLEMP TO EMP_ID IN HOLDZIP AS J3
JOIN J2EMP_ID IN ALLEMP TO EMP_ID IN HOLDZIP AS J4
TABLE FILE ALLEMP
PRINT EMP_ID MANAGER_ID
LAST_NAME J2LAST_NAME
J3ZIP J4ZIP
ON TABLE SET PAGE NOLEAD
ON TABLE SET STYLE *
GRID=OFF,$
ENDSTYLE
END
The prefixed field name J1EMP_ID is now needed to establish whether the EMP_ID field
referenced in JOIN J3 refers to the EMP_ID field from JOIN J1 or from JOIN J2. Similarly, a
prefixed EMP_ID field is needed in JOIN J4. The output is shown in the following image.
Report With Data Visualization Bar Graphs
The new HTML approach to generating data visualization bar graphs may cause a change in
the display. The new approach, as also used by AHTML, defines the colored bar graphs with
HTML tags, rather than images.
As a result:
Printing is not supported.
The zero indicator bar is now present in all reports. Previously, it was only present when
negative values were represented.
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The height of the bar has become slightly larger.
As a workaround, to revert back to legacy functionality, issue the following SET command:
SET HTMLDATABARS = {ON|OFF}
where:
ON
Produces the new HTML-based data visualization bar graphs. This is the default value.
OFF
Produces the legacy image-based data visualization bar graphs.
Upgrading HTML Pages for Modern Browsers
To meet the latest HTML5 and browser standards, the following enhancements have been
implemented to generated HTML tags:
Standard tags are the default behavior.
On the Reporting Server, the default setting for HTMLCSS is ON.
For procedures created by WebFOCUS tools, the default setting for HTMLCSS is ON.
Added a document type designation to identify which browser mode will operate best.
The HTML5 DOCTYPE has been inserted for the highest level of functionality.
In certain features, HTML4 mode supports the legacy interactive functionality.
The default for embedding images into HTML pages has been changed to embed a 64-bit
encoded image, rather than generating a web archive.
Converting WebFOCUS StyleSheet Syntax to CSS Tags
HTMLCSS is an attribute identifying that the report will be styled using an internal WebFOCUS
StyleSheet.
With HTMLCSS ON, report styling defined in the WebFOCUS internal StyleSheet is inserted
into the HTML page using standard HTML tags. Styling is further affected by settings from
external sources, such as external CSS or browser defaults.
With HTMLCSS OFF, enhanced styling defaults to settings from external sources, such as
external CSS or browser defaults.
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WebFOCUS Language
The following table identifies the WebFOCUS styling attributes that are not supported with
HTMLCSS OFF. For these attributes, the defaults are set by the browser or any external CSS in
place. With HTMLCSS ON, the WebFOCUS styling will be applied, causing changes in how the
report presents.
Attribute
HTMLCSS ON
HTMLCSS OFF
FONT
Defined font face
Browser default
FONT SIZE
Defined font size
Browser default
WRAP
As defined in the procedure
Browser default
SQUEEZE
As defined in the procedure
Always removes trailing spaces
WIDTH
As defined in the procedure
Browser default
BORDERS
Displays borders
Displays grids only
GRID
Displays grids
No styling
MARGIN
Defined margins
Browser default
POSITION=n
In headings and footings,
position designated values or
text designated units from left
margin
Concatenates all elements
without trailing spaces
The following are usage notes for HTMLCSS ON:
Changes in FONT face and SIZE caused by respecting the internal StyleSheet will cause
reports to grow in width and height, based on the defined font attributes.
When GRID and COLOR (font color) are used together, the defined color is applied to both
the font and the internal grid lines of the cell.
JUSTIFY = CENTER is supported at the report level with HTMLCSS ON.
The vertical alignment of data within a row that contains multiple lines will shift from the
browser default to aligning to the top of the cell.
With HTMLCSS OFF, images are positioned at the start of a cell and the text flows around
them. With HTMLCSS ON, the image and the text can be positioned by StyleSheet syntax
and spaces inserted within the report.
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In heading and footing text, field values can be concatenated with all internal spaces
removed. With HTMLCSS OFF, a text string is trimmed with no trailing space so
"Category<CATEGORY" will present as "CategoryCOFFEE". With HTMLCSS ON, a trailing
space is retained when the text string is trimmed, so the text string will present as
"Category COFFEE".
With HTMLCSS OFF, the color of the hyperlink is set by the browser. With HTMLCSS ON, the
hyperlink color can be set within the style sheet. With HTMLCSS ON:
Hyperlink color will take precedence over font color. Prior to Release 8.2 Version 01,
when a font color was set for the whole report or a specific area, hyperlinks presented
in the report color, rather than hyperlink blue.
In Release 8.2 Version 01, support for customizing a hyperlink color (HYPERLINKCOLOR) is available. For more information, see the Creating Reports With WebFOCUS
Language manual.
Positioning of peer graphs may shift within the report.
Document Type Designation to Identify Browser Mode
DOCTYPE is a declaration placed at the top of each HTML page to provide browsers with
information on what type of document to expect.
The addition of the HTML5 DOCTYPE will cause all pages to be viewed in Internet Explorer 11
in Standards Mode or the highest available mode for the selected browser. This upgraded
standard allows enhanced functionality in the WebFOCUS interactive features, including:
Cascading Multi-drill menus with styling (DRILLMENUITEM)
Expand By Row Accordion Reports (EXPANDBYROW)
Freeze Horizontal Frames (HFREEZE)
HTML Table of Contents (HTMLTOC)
The following interactive features will continue to operate with an HTML4 DOCTYPE:
Accordion by Column (EXPANDABLE)
On Demand Paging (WEBVIEWER)
OLAP
Note: For the above HTML4 interactive features, the legacy menus (blue and red) will appear,
rather than the new cascading menus.
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WebFOCUS Language
Changes in behavior:
With HTML5 pages, the external CSS tags have become case sensitive.
There may be a slight adjustment of margins on the report page, based on browser
defaults.
Change to AnV Fields When Output to a Delimited Format
When an AnV field is used in a request that generates a delimited file as output (FORMATS
COM, COMT, TAB, TABT, and DFIX), trailing blanks in the AnV field are now retained. To have
them removed, issue the SET HLDCOM_TRIMANV=ON command.
Changes to the HTMLEMBEDIMG and HTMLARCHIVE Commands (HTML/DHTML)
The following are release considerations and product changes for the HTMLEMBEDIMG and
HTMLARCHIVE commands:
The default value for HTMLEMBEDIMG has changed from AUTO to ON.
Embedded images are now supported in all WebFOCUS-supported browsers across all
platforms.
Due to this change, most requests will generate a .htm file, not a .mht file, with embedded
images. For images placed at the REPORT level with absolute references, HTMLARCHIVE
(and PDF) places images relative to the top of the page, while HTMLEMBEDIMG places
images relative to the top of the table.
DHTML Output Format
In DHTML format reports using ACROSSTITLE=SIDE and BORDERS at the REPORT level,
attributes assigned to the STYLE keyword, including BOLD and UNDERLINE, are now applied.
Change to ACROSS Column Limit
The limit on the number of ACROSS columns has been removed. The limit on the number of
ACROSS keys remains the same. Total sort keys (BY and ACROSS) has a maximum of 128.
Enhancement for JPG Compression
By default, the algorithm used to compress JPG images has been enhanced from FLATE to
DCT. The DCT setting gives you control over the balance of image quality verses image size.
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DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) is a compression method, introduced in WebFOCUS Release
8.2 Version 01, which allows for the designation of the percentage of quality to be retained
within the compressed image. In some images, quality loss is not noticeable when higher
degrees of compression are applied. Generally, the higher the compression applied, the lower
the image quality.
The default setting has been changed from FLATE at 100% to DCT at 75%.
For more information on the SET JPEGENCODE and SET JPEGQUALITY commands, see the
Developing Reporting Applications manual.
Changes to Report Backcolor
The following are release considerations and product changes for report backcolor:
An enhancement has been implemented to standardize how all reports present alternating
backcolor. It should now consistently present the colors in the order defined in the
StyleSheet. This may cause a change in behavior for reports that previously presented the
colors in reverse order.
For alternating backcolor in a report, you can define two colors in the order they should be
presented. In releases prior to Release 8.2 Version 01, features that require a second
pass for styling (for example, borders, TABLASTPAGE, and SQUEEZE=ON) presented
alternating colors starting with the second color, followed by the first color. As of Release
8.2 Version 01, all features work consistently, presenting the first color and then the
second color. This may cause the alternating pattern to change in some instances.
Change to the HTMLCSS Command (HTML/DHTML)
The following are release considerations and product changes for HTMLCSS:
The default value for the HTMLCSS parameter has changed to ON. All core WebFOCUS
styling is activated by this change.
Due to this change in the default, you must add the SET HTMLCSS=OFF command to
the procedure to provide continued support for external cascading style sheet styling.
When HTMLCSS=ON, and grids are enabled, the inner gridlines inherit the color applied
to the font defined in each cell.
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WebFOCUS Language
When HTMLCSS=ON and SQUEEZE=OFF, the em font measurement is used. The em
font measurement is based on the point size of the font, which is the height of the
character set including ascenders, descenders, and gap spacing. An em font
measurement is wider than the largest letter in the font, usually a capital M or W,
because it is not a measurement of width. Given these font measurement
considerations, for requests with SQUEEZE=OFF, the following is recommended for the
column width calculation to be the largest column value or the width of the column title,
whichever is larger:
Use proportional font.
Add the SET HTMLCSS=OFF command to the procedure.
When HTMLCSS=OFF and SQUEEZE=OFF, use a proportional font, since each
proportional font character is the same size. The column width will be the largest
column width calculation or the width of the column title, whichever is larger.
Enhancement to the SET EXTENDNUM Command
The SET EXTENDNUM enhancement ensures that data values within a report no longer present
as asterisks if the value is larger than the defined format. With the default value of
EXTENDNUM=AUTO, report columns will automatically expand to fit the largest data value.
Column alignment is affected by the EXTENDNUM default in the following ways:
For styled table-based formats (HTML, EXL2K, and XLSX), column alignment will always be
maintained.
For positioned output formats (PDF, PS, DHTML, PPT, and PPTX), where column locations
are explicitly set, use SQUEEZE=ON to ensure that all data columns maintain alignment.
For unstyled formats (WP), the columns are not adjusted to fit the new values, which may
cause misalignment of data columns.
Usage Considerations
Compound documents (PDF, DHTML, PPT, and PPTX) do not currently support paneling
within component reports.
Integers larger than 2GB cannot display on 32-bit machines. Therefore, such integers on
these machines will display incorrect values.
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Floating-point numbers (types F and D) that require more than 31 digits to print correctly will
continue to display asterisks. For example, a field with usage D33.30 and a value of 10.0
will print as asterisks because it needs 30 zeros to the right of the decimal point and two
digits to the left.
Numeric Precision in XLSX Workbooks
The following change in behavior describes how numeric precision in XLSX workbooks is
defined in each of the WebFOCUS releases and how changes in this area might affect the
numbers generated.
Numeric precision is defined by the number of significant digits retained in the value placed
within the workbook. The value displayed in the worksheet cell will always reflect the digits
defined in the display format. The value displayed in the formula bar represents the actual
number passed from WebFOCUS.
The following table shows how numeric precision has changed across releases for the
following sample value and format:
Value
32.123456789876567898
Format
D20.10
WebFOCUS
Release
Precision Passed from
WebFOCUS to Excel
Formula Bar Display
Cell Display
Prior to Release
8.1 Version
05M
Output preserves up to six
(6) decimal places. The
values are truncated and
rounded based on
WebFOCUS calculation
rules. Additional digits in
the display format are
padded with zeros (0).
32.123457
32.1234570000
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WebFOCUS Language
WebFOCUS
Release
Precision Passed from
WebFOCUS to Excel
Formula Bar Display
Cell Display
Release 8.1
Version 05M
Output preserves the
number of decimals
places defined in the
display format plus two
(2), to support
transformation in
formulas and totals. The
values are truncated and
rounded based on
WebFOCUS calculation
rules.
32.123456789877
32.1234567899
Release 8.2
Version 01M
and higher
Output preserves up to
the Excel limit of 15
digits. Rounding is
performed by Excel for
values greater than 15.
These rules also apply to
data values defined with
double precision or
packed, with the
percentage display format
(D%, P%).
32.1234567898766
32.1234567899
XLSX FORMULA and EXL2K FORMULA
Only columns that precede the formula column will be included as a cell reference. Columns
referenced in a COMPUTE command that occur after the COMPUTE in the report are
represented in formulas by value, rather than reference.
Locale Settings
In EXL2K reports, the insertion of ISO codes for currency symbols generates view-only
workbooks. In some cases, the symbol may be incorrectly represented.
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The following CURRENCY SET commands are not supported in EXL2K FORMULA:
SET CURRENCY_ISO_CODE
SET CURRENCY_DISPLAY
SET CURRENCY_PRINT_ISO
Conditional Styling With Borders
When individual top or bottom borders are defined (for example, BORDER-TOP=LIGHT or
BORDER-BOTTOM=HEAVY), they may not present as specified if any existing conditional styling
clause is not met for that cell. A workaround is to use the overall border syntax to apply
borders to the entire cell (for example, BORDER=LIGHT).
Error Messages
Some messages that did not have numbers in prior release now have them and will display
where no message displayed previously. You can use the SET WARNING command to change
the status of selected messages.
DST. With NOPRINT
In prior releases, the NOPRINT option was not respected for fields prefixed with the DST.
operator. They appeared on the report output and were propagated to a HOLD file even with
SET HOLDLIST=PRINTONLY in effect. This behavior has now changed so that the NOPRINT is
respected.
Execution of Compound Reports
As of Release 8.2, a compound report will not be created when any of its component reports
fail. To safeguard against issues caused by components dependent on earlier components
that might return zero records, you can use Dialogue Manager to capture the record count of
the initial HOLD file and skip over the dependent component when no file was generated by the
earlier component.
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WebFOCUS Language
Changes to Default MATCH FILE Processing
In prior releases, MATCH FILE requests did not group verb objects with their sort keys across
files. The resulting record was laid out by appending the fields from each file to the resulting
record in the HOLD file. The current default behavior is to group verb objects with their sort
keys. This can result in the fields being propagated to the HOLD file in a different order and
can affect the MATCH results if the request uses the default alias names generated in the
HOLD Master File. The advantage of this technique is that it supports HOLD file formats, such
as FORMAT FOCUS that generate an associated Master File. If you need to invoke the
processing from prior releases, issue the following command.
SET MATCHCOLUMNORDER = UNGROUPED
Using &Variables as Dialogue Manager Labels
When using amper variables as Dialogue Manager labels, using the following syntax works
correctly and navigates to the label name indicated by the amper variable.
-GOTO &LABEL
However, the following syntax does not navigate to the label indicated but rather generates the
message FOC305 SPECIFIED LABEL NOT FOUND.
-IF condition THEN GOTO &LABEL;
This can be resolved by adding the .EVAL suffix to the amper variable.
-IF condition THEN GOTO &LABEL.EVAL ;
Change in Results With WHERE TOTAL, Multi-Verb, and MAX.
A multi-verb request that uses the same field name in a WHERE TOTAL as it does in a field
calculation causes a different output.
If a prefix operation is done on the same field in the lower verb request, the WHERE TOTAL is
using the first verb occurrence, which is not intended behavior.
Changing verb object names to be unique or switching the multi-verb request to a single-verb
request using WITHIN works.
NATVFLG=2 causes VALIDATE error
Customers who were previously told to issue the command SET NATVFLG=2 to rectify a
rounding issue for specific double precision numbers should remove this setting from their
applications, as it is no longer needed and may cause equality test failures.
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